20 Strangest Medical Cures And Remedies From The Past

Half a mouse
In Elizabethan England people would cut mice in half and apply them to their warts.

Sheep livers
In Mesopotamia people were diagnosed with diseases by examining the livers of sacrificed sheep.

Farts
In the middle ages, people were convinced that the black death was caused by smelly odors. So many physicians encouraged people to fart in jars and then open the jars when the plaque came to town.

Crystal Meth
Hitler was a known hypochondriac they would often inject him with all sorts of medications, including meth.

Vin Mariani
Italian chemist Angelo Mariani came out with a “healing tonic” that consisted of red wine and cocoa leaves.

Coca-Cola
Colonel John Pemberton, the inventor, claimed that it could cure headaches, morphine addiction, and impotence.

Tongue Cutting
If you stuttered in the 1800s you could expect the doctor to cut off half of your tongue.

Clysters
The medieval word for enemas, people use it to cure constipation, which is still done today.

Powder of Sympathy
A special powder consisting of pig’s brains, mummified corpses, and earthworms which was usually applied to battle wounds.

Urine for diagnosis
In 1800s doctors would often diagnose the patient by smelling, examining, and even tasting the patient’s urine.

Urine as an antiseptic
This one was often the treatment of choice on the battlefield.

Snake oil
The ancient Chinese used it to cure joint pain.

Arsenic
In the past it has been used as everything from a cosmetic to a cure for Malaria.

Moldy Bread
As far back as ancient Egypt it was used as a disinfectant.

Needles
In the middle ages the needle was used to shove cataracts to the back of eye.

Hot iron
If you got hemorrhoids then you could expect to have a hot iron pushed up your rectum.

Trepaning
To cure head related issues like migraines, people would have holes drilled into their skulls to relieve pressure on the brain.

Horoscopes
In medieval Europe doctors were legally required to consult a patients horoscope before making a diagnosis.

Bloodletting
During the middle ages excess blood in the body was seen as the cause of numerous ailments.